Custer chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, Black Hills, D.T. [S.D.]) 1880-1890, 1887-08-27
"CoNCERNyNG THE BIGoTs."

the Rev. 4. DE witt lalmagSs sermon
is Concerning the Bigots," and the
text is:
''Then said they unto him, say now shib-
boleth, and he said Sibboleth, for be could
not frame to pronounce 1t rigIt. Then they
took him, and slew him at the passages ot
Jordan. Judges XII, 6.
Do you notice the difference OF pro-
nunciation between %shibboleth and sib'
boleth? A very small and unimportant
difference, you say. And yet that diff
ference was the difference between life
and death for a great many people.
The Lords people, Gilead and Eph-
rain. got into a great fight, and Eph-
RAIN was worsted, and on the retreat
came to the fords of the river Jordan
TO cross. Order was given that ali
Ephraimites coming there should be
slain. But how could it be found out
who were Ephraimites? They were
detected by their pronunciation. Shib-
boleth was "A word that stood for river.
The Ephraimites had n brogue of their
own, and when they tried to say shib-
boleth always left out the sound of the
s'h." When ii was asked That they
say s~hiLSboleth they said sibboleth, and
were slain. Then said they unto him,
Say now Shibholeth, and he said Sib-
boleth, for he could not frame to pro-
nounce it right. Then they took him,
and slew him at the passages of
Jordan" A very small difference,
sou say, between Gilead and Ephraim,
and yet how much intolerance about
that small difference! The Lords
tribes n cur time-by which l mean
the different denominations of Christ
lans--sometimes magnify a very small
difference. and the only difference be.
tween scores Of denominations to-day
is the difference between shlbboleth
and sibboleth.
LIBERTY IN LGRlM $ BELIEF.
The church of God is divided into a
great number of denominations. Time
would fail to tell of the Calvinists
and the Arminians, and the
Sabbatarians, and the Baxterians,
and the Dunkers and the Shakers, and
the Quakers, and the Methodists, and
the Baptists, and the Episcopalians,
and the Lutherans, and the Ccngrega-
tionalists, and the Presbyterians, and
the ~SpiritualIsts, and q score of other
denominations OF religionists, some of
chem founded by very good men, some
of them founded by very egotistic men,
and some of them founded by very bad
men. But ~ | demand for myself lib
erty of Conscience, | must give that
same liberty to every other man, re-
membering that he no more differs
from me than / differ from him. / adj
vocate the largest liberty in all relig-
ious belief and form Of worship. In
art, 10 politics, in morals, and in re-
ligion let there he no gag law, no NOV
Nog of the previous question, no perse-
Cution, no intolerance.
You know that the air and the water
keep pure by constant circulation, and
| think there is n tendency in religious
discussion TO publication and moral
health. Between the fourth and the
sixteenth centuries the church proposed
to make people think Alright by prohib-
ting discussion and by strong censor
ship Of the press, and BY rack, and
gibbct, and hot lead down the throat.
tried to make people orthodox; but it
was discovered that you cannot cnange
aman's belief by twisting off his head.
and that YOU cannot make q man see
things differently by putting al awl
through his eyes. There is something
in a mans conscience which will hull
off the mountain that you threw upon
it, and, unsinged of the fire, out Of the
dame will make red wings on which
.he martyr VIII noun III Slory.
s~ECTARIANISM
/ propose .:ys morning 20 speak &c
-ou OF seot6rianism-Its origin, It's
yiIs, and itss.c1res. There are those
yho would make US thial; that this
Aonster, withs horns and hoofs, is re
igion. l shsLl chase it TO its hiding
,lsoe and drag /. out OF the caycrns OK
.arkness. sna rip cg It's hide. But
want to make u distinction between
bigotry and the lawful fondness for pc
culiar religious beliefs and forms of
worship. j have no admiration for .
nothingarian.
In a world of such tremendous vicis-
situd- and temptation, and with a soul
tn fer u while stand before q
TIN Sufferable brightness, in n